Annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship Keynote Speaker and Poster Event Highlights Entrepreneurship and Undergraduate Summer Research
At the event, CDP Advisor Founder Gregg Bjork shared than 100 undergraduate students shared their summer research findings
On Nov. 13, Stevens Institute of Technology hosted its annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Keynote Speaker and poster event, where Gregg Bjork, expert in founding and developing start-ups and CDP Advisor founder, gave a lecture on how to find success as an entrepreneur, and more than 100 undergraduate researchers presented their summer research.
Bjork shared that success is not linear, and successful entrepreneurs know how to absorb setbacks and move forward. "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm," he said, quoting a statement often attributed to Winston Churchill.
Students from the Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Summer Scholars and the Pinnacle Scholars shared posters detailing their summer research and entrepreneurial projects. The projects included the development of novel anti-cancer drugs, a training program and strategic plan for Urban New Jersey Safety Net Hospitals, research on image data compression, and a piece of adaptive machinery to assist disabled children in participating in sports activities.
“The coolest thing was that I was able to take what I learned in the classroom and understand how to make a marketable product,” said Amy Renné ’21 who spent her summer researching a solution for image data compression. Her research aims to bridge the gap in the imaging processing field in which the technology for taking high resolution images outweighs the technology for being able to easily store those images.
Another student, Daniel Gulko ’21 conducted research on low satisfaction in New Jersey Safety Net Hospitals and proposed training programs for hospital staff based on his findings. “I was able to gain a new perspective by imagining myself as CEO of a hospital,” he explained.
The participating students conducted summer research as part of two programs, the I&E Summer Scholar Program and Pinnacle Scholars. The I&E Summer Scholar Program is an intensive 10-week summer program that provides hand-on research opportunities combined with entrepreneurial training workshops to selected students to show how great scientific innovations can become marketable opportunities. The Pinnacle Scholar program is a program where students may engage in advanced research or entrepreneurial projects throughout the course of their undergraduate studies.
